Chapter 058: Each Makes Their Preparations

While Mu Tianhen was refining pills and Little White was swallowing them, and the members of the Mu family anxiously awaited the outcome, the rest of Shunan City was far from as calm as it appeared on the surface.

Nearly every family had sent someone to witness the Mu family’s patriarchal succession ceremony. All had seen the upheavals within the illusion, and all had beheld Mu Tianhen’s execution of Mu Tianfeng’s entire household.

Because of this, every family viewed Mu Tianhen with grave concern.

The Mu family had always followed the path of spear cultivation, and Mu Tianhen himself was once a spear cultivator. Yet after his mysterious disappearance and return, he had transformed into a sword cultivator.

Clearly, something monumental must have occurred during that time—he must have encountered a terrifyingly powerful sword master and received their instruction. Or perhaps he acquired a lost and exquisite cultivation technique somewhere, allowing him to soar skyward, his power surging, and enabling him to easily slay Mu Tianfeng, who had reached the sixth level of the Sky-Gazing Mirror.

If one followed this line of reasoning, Mu Tianhen’s current cultivation should have entered the final three levels, perhaps even reaching the eighth level.

With such power, he could be deemed invincible within Shunan City. Only the reclusive patriarch of the Dai family might be able to suppress him.

No one else—not even the Gu family of the City Lord’s Mansion—could compare.

This, in itself, should have been a great blessing for Shunan City—at least, with another formidable figure to protect the people, there would remain a sliver of hope in the face of a beast tide.

Yet human nature is selfish. No one wishes to see another surpass them, especially the martial clans, whose belligerent spirits cannot abide being outdone or trampled underfoot. Each clan strove openly and secretly, constantly restraining one another.

If an opportunity presented itself, none would hesitate to strike.

For hundreds of years, the city’s four great families had vied in the shadows, each seeking to rise above the others and dominate Shunan City.

Alas, none had succeeded.

Even the City Lord’s Mansion, backed by the imperial court, could not suppress the other families.

In this world, only strength was the ultimate truth. The City Lord’s Mansion merely governed the city; it was not yet strong enough to become its sovereign.

But now, with the Mu family’s patriarch suddenly soaring to terrifying new heights, which family could remain calm and unworried?

Thus, emergency meetings were convened throughout the city, debating how to handle future relations with the Mu family.

The best option, of course, would be to eliminate Mu Tianhen.

But under current circumstances, who possessed the strength to accomplish this?

The Dai family’s patriarch would certainly not emerge from seclusion merely to suppress the Mu family—anyone could guess that. For the higher one’s cultivation, the more one yearned for a breakthrough.

Unless the family faced total annihilation, he would never emerge.

Even so, the other families had to devise a plan and consider their escape routes carefully.

Time was short.

In three days, Mu Tianhen would host his banquet—a so-called banquet of gratitude. Who didn’t know this was merely a grand display of power? At that event, if Mu Tianhen declared himself the arbiter of Shunan City’s order, demanding the other families obey him, what recourse would they have if unprepared?

Anyone who dared oppose him then would become the sacrificial lamb, killed as a warning to others.

To avoid such a fate, everything had to be prepared within these three days.

But with their current strength, no matter how hard they racked their brains, no solution presented itself.

Thus, the families saw only one path forward.

After each clan’s internal discussions reached consensus, they launched a second wave of action.

They sent out emissaries to form an alliance, pooling resources according to their respective strengths, then dispatched representatives beyond the city to seek the aid of powerful outsiders.

At this moment, none doubted that the funds pooled would be misappropriated. This was no longer about a single family, but the fate of all Shunan City—no one would be so foolish.

Yet, just as in the illusion, while all the other families responded to the alliance, the Dai family refused to participate.

Their intent was obvious: they would not involve themselves in such a fruitless endeavor, nor would they drag their family into unnecessary trouble.

This attitude from the Dai family greatly displeased the others, who resolved that after dealing with Mu Tianhen, they would turn their fury upon the Dai family.

With the combined might of dozens of clans, the Dai family would be annihilated before their patriarch could emerge from seclusion. By then, his power would be meaningless.

Furthermore, even if the Dai patriarch did appear, they had already chosen a countermeasure.

Their chosen champion was a terrifying assassin who had reached the Thunder Tribulation Realm—a killer who cared for nothing but money.

With a little extra compensation, he could easily be persuaded to deal with the Dai patriarch as well.

And with so many families united, money was no obstacle. If gold could solve the problem, then there was no problem at all.

Brimming with cautious optimism, the authorized representative set off at a gallop, heading northwest out of the city, quickly vanishing around a bend.

Many eyes watched his departure, silently praying for success, hoping this man would bring back the power to vanquish Mu Tianhen, the gravest threat to them all.

However, the three great families each harbored another plan: to cultivate their own most talented young martial artists, sending them into secluded training in hidden places.

The families would provide every available resource, assisting these heirs in their advancement.

The aim was not a hurried breakthrough to rival Mu Tianhen, but preparation for the Heavenly Pavilion’s grand selection in three months’ time.

To be powerful within Shunan City was not true strength; only upon entering the Heavenly Pavilion would one truly distinguish oneself.

According to past standards, anyone reaching the latter three levels of the Meridian Opening Realm qualified to attend the selection, to present themselves before the Pavilion’s assessors.

Those attaining the third level of the Blood Ignition Realm could become full disciples of the Heavenly Pavilion, soaring to new heights and elevating their families with them.

By such standards, the heirs of the four great families had all reached the requirements for formal disciples. But Mu Tianhen’s extraordinary performance had spurred them to relentless effort.

Their young prodigies must not only become formal disciples of the Heavenly Pavilion, but also dazzling newcomers. With a few more methods and a powerful backer, they aimed to surpass Mu Tianhen within those halls.

Thus, even if the alliance’s current plan failed, their families would not be doomed to decline—instead, they might become more illustrious than ever.

Of course, if Mu Tianhen could be killed and the Mu family destroyed at this moment, so much the better.

Thus, Princess Huang Xiaoshan of the Huang family, Young Master Gu Lingyun of the Gu family, and Miss Dai Linger of the Dai family had all entered seclusion, and had been there for three months already.

They would not emerge until the Heavenly Pavilion’s selection.

Mu Tianhen had long since anticipated these moves, but he felt not the slightest anxiety. He firmly believed that the resources provided to the other clans’ seclusion-bound heirs could not surpass his own.

Even if they began to pour in resources madly now, they could not compare to him.

For in Little White’s homeland, he had obtained more spiritual herbs than the sum total of all Shunan City—by far.

Once these herbs were refined into pills, the benefits would extend not just to him, but to his entire family.

Thus, Mu Tianhen’s sole focus now was pill refinement.

Yet, there was still one matter that caught him off guard.